The West Midlands region has seen the fastest growth in new business across the whole of the 海角视频 following the pandemic - but firms are still axing jobs.
The latest NatWest West Midlands PMI report for July showed business activity is recovering quickly on the back of the coronavirus, with much stronger increase in new business among private sector firms at the start of the third quarter.
The rate of growth surged to the second-fastest since the survey started in mid-1996 and was the fastest across the 12 monitored regions.
The reopening of businesses was a key factory driving higher sales.
Business expectations regarding the outlook for output over the next 12 months improved further in July and The Future Business Activity Index reached its highest level for three-and-a-half years, signalling that a greater proportion of firms were more positive about the year-ahead outlook than in June.
Optimism was driven by expectations of a further recovery in economic activity as it is hoped that market conditions will return to normality in the coming months.
Despite this, private sector firms continued to cut workforce numbers at the start of the third quarter, although the rate of decline slowed from June. Nevertheless, the pace of job shedding remained sharp.
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The drop in staffing numbers was connected to redundancies.
July data indicated a largely unchanged level of outstanding business at private sector firms in the West Midlands, with the respective seasonally adjusted index coming in fractionally below the no-change 50.0 mark.
Following a three-month period of decline, input costs faced by private sector firms in the West Midlands rose in July. The rate of inflation was solid overall.
Increased expenses were linked to a relative weaker exchange rate and higher transport and wage costs.
Firms in the West Midlands raised their output charges for a second straight month during July. Respondents that reported higher selling prices noted increased costs and improved demand. The rate of inflation remained modest, however.
John Maude, NatWest Midlands & East Regional Board, said: "The rebound in business activity across the West Midlands' private sector economy gained momentum in July, according to the latest PMI data, led by resurgent demand as businesses reopened in greater numbers after the Covid-19 lockdown.
"The increase in new business was substantial, hinting at much-improved levels of demand. External demand also reportedly contributed to the overall improvement.
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"The brightening picture was accompanied by improved sentiment, with business confidence reaching the strongest in three-and-a-half years during July.
"While the PMI's New Business Index showed strong gains in July, the inflows of new work failed to put pressure on operating capacity, as reflected by the level of backlogs broadly unchanged from June. A lack of capacity pressure weighed further on hiring, with employment falling sharply again."